Tag: San Antonio Spurs

TD vs Joey Crawford ranked as one of NBA’s top 5 historical feuds

It wouldn’t seem likely for normally mild-mannered Tim Duncan to make a list chronicling the NBA’s top feuds.

But my blog brothers at Mancave.com have ranked Duncan’s disagreements over the years with NBA referee Joey Crawford rank among the .

That’s right. Up there with Kobe Bryant vs. Shaquille O’Neal. Reggie Miller vs. Spike Lee. And even Wilt Chamberlain vs. Bill Russell.

Here’s what Mancave had have to say about Duncan’s previous squabbles with Crawford, which culminated in their legendary disagreement in a game against Dallas on April 15, 2007.

Probably the least-expected feud of all time involves giant teddy bear Tim Duncan and controversial veteran referee Joey Crawford. Joey has been known for some pretty ridiculous calls—sometimes calling fouls on people that he committed. But at the top of the list has to be slapping two technicals on Tim Duncan within two minutes …  for laughing on the bench. Crawford was fined, but Duncan had to pony up $25,000 as well. Some choice words he had for Joey as he left the court were caught on camera.”

It still rankles Spurs fans to see Crawford on the sidelines.

And guess what. I’m sure it doesn’t make Duncan any happier to see Crawford demonstratively making his calls in Spurs games, either.

There are other great historic feuds involving the Spurs. From Rich Jones against all of his old teammates back in the day to Karl Malone vs. David Robinson. Manu Ginobili vs. Tony Allen has the makings for some future antipathy as well.

I’m curious Spurs Nation. What is your favorite feud involving the Spurs and an opposing player over the years? And give a reason or two why it’s your favorite.

Blog brother wonders if Manu’s grit or Spurs stealth was more amazing

Blog brother Andrew McNeill of 48 Minutes of Hell.com remains amazed by Manu Ginobili’s toughness during the playoffs.

With good reason, I might add.

McNeill remembers struggling with a sprained ankle during his playing career and compares it with how with his injured right elbow bound in a contraption seemingly borrowed from Rollerball.

And he correctly notes that the most interesting part of Ginobili’s injury might be that the Spurs were able to shield how severe the injury really was during the middle of the playoffs.

Here are some other Spurs-related takes from across the blogosphere and beyond.  

  • Venerable Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke believes the hiring of former Spurs assistant Mike Brown by the Lakers is the .
  • McNeill explains why Gregg Popovich likes his team to “”  and checks in with Mark Deeks of  in a podcast about the .
  • Jeff Garcia of Project Spurs.com analyzes the chances of in the European league ACB to play in the United States next season.
  • Paul Garcia of Project Spurs.com opines about George Hill’s  next season. 
  • Jason Rogers of Project Spurs.com looks at this summer.
  • Pounding the Rock.com’s Justin “Scrappy Doo” Biehle has a about a Popovich vacation driving through West Texas. Biehle also explains the contentment he finds in the
  • John Sparks, the Spurs vice president/general manager of the ATT Center, has been hired as the. The Associated Press reports that Sparks will be directing the new facility in Brookly.
  • The guys from Project Spurs.com during a writer’s roundtable.
  • Former Spurs guard and current Memphis Grizzlies assistant Damon Stoudamire is interviewing with University of Memphis coach Josh Pastner , the Memphis Commercial-Appeal’s Josh Smith reports.
  • Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake City Tribune reports that Utah’s local television ratings ranked second among NBA teams this season .

Rivers wants to build the Celtics with the Spurs as a template

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

There assuredly are a lot of copycats around the NBA. Gregg Popovich said only minutes after the Spurs were eliminated from the playoffs that he couldn’t wait to pluck a few ideas from those teams still playing.

Former Spurs player and television analyst Doc Rivers, a close friend of Popovich, has seen a few things with his old franchise he’d like to replicate with Boston.

And now armed with an NBA-best $7 million yearly contract, Rivers will be aiming to rebuild the Celtics like he’s seen the Spurs and the Utah Jazz do over recent seasons.   

“I look at the Utah situation and Jerry Sloan,” Rivers said on his weekly radio show on Boston radio station WEEI and . “And I look at the situation in San Antonio (with Popovich). (Boston general manager) Danny (Ainge) and I were talking — those are the two more stable franchises, because they’ve had the same coach and the same GM and the same ownership. They’ve been able to draft well, scout well, pick the right players for the system because they’ve known the system. When we talked about it, that’s what we want to do.”

It says something about the Spurs and their respect around the league when the coach of a franchise that has qualified for the last three NBA Finals would like to build his team after one that hasn’t advanced out of the second round in that same period.

Rivers has seen the Spurs franchise built and maintained from the inside as one of the league’s most successful franchises over the Tim Duncan era.

And now, he’d like to do the same thing with his team.